Blipper is a common aquatic enemy in the Kirby series, making its debut in Kirby's Dream Land. It provides no Copy Ability when inhaled, and its modus operandi is to swim through bodies of water or leap out of it to try and collide with Kirby. When Blipper is in the water, it may either swim in fixed patrol paths or try to home in on Kirby. Its swimming speed is generally slow, but in some instances, it may crowd entry points to the water, making it tricky for Kirby to enter without getting hurt. On land, Blipper can only flop about uselessly, but it can still hurt Kirby by collision regardless. In terms of physical appearance, Blipper's upper body is often red or orange, and its lower body is yellow. It sports a white fin on each side, along with a white tail. Despite its fish-like anatomy, it wears traditional scuba goggles, with small black eyes underneath.
Blipper has relatively little health and can be defeated with any attack while on dry land. It is somewhat harder to defeat while underwater since Kirby's attack is limited to spraying it with the Water Gun, unless he has an ability suited for use underwater, like Sword or Spear. Another aquatic enemy larger in size, Mamatee, closely resembles Blipper, and is implied by an official illustration to be the mother of Blippers.
Appears in New Challenge Stages. Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby Super Star, and Kirby's Dream Land 3 are also included, where Blipper has the exact same role.
Blipper makes its debut appearance in Kirby's Dream Land. Here is where its characteristic behavior of tracking Kirby in the water and leaping out was established. In the Extra Game, Blipper becomes even more aggressive, and will frequently leap out of water and gain a good deal of height before falling back down again.
Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land[edit]
Kirby swimming toward some Blippers in Kirby's Adventure.
Blipper appears for the first time in color in Kirby's Adventure. Its behavior is relatively unchanged, though its speed has been generally toned down in most cases. It can often be seen blocking off the entryways to pools of water, requiring Kirby to dispose of it in some way before taking the plunge.
Blipper can be found in the following levels and stages:
Blipper locations in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Kirby navigating past some Blippers on Planet Aqualiss in Kirby Super Star.
Blipper appears in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra, serving the same purpose as before. Here is where it can first commonly be seen flopping around on land.
In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Blipper is one of the possible cards that can appear in Kirby Card Swipe.
Blipper can be found in the following places in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra:
Blipper locations in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Blipper is comparatively rare compared to other games where it appears due to a relative lack of substantial watery areas outside of Secret Sea.
In Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Blipper can be found in the following rooms:
Blipper returns in Kirby: Canvas Curse, and will pursue Kirby whenever he is submerged in water. It can be stunned with a tap from the Magical Paintbrush to defeat by contact or can be defeated using a Touch Dash.
In Kirby: Canvas Curse, Blipper appears in the following locations:
In Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, Blipper is generally more mild in temperament, and is unable to directly harm Kirby, instead only bumping him if they make contact. Blipper is transformed into a standard yarn ball when wrapped up.
In Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, the Big Fish Pond furniture piece, obtained as a reward through preserving Life Pieces in Devilish Mode, has a chance of causing the Blipper to appear when pulling on the fishing bobber button in the center of the water.
Blipper can be found in the following levels and stages in Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn:
Blipper locations in Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
Blipper does not appear in Kirby Mass Attack. However, a very similar-looking fish enemy called Biripper makes an appearance. Notably, there is an unused sprite for Blipper in the game's files, suggesting it would have been an enemy in this game.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]
Blipper's in-game appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land marks Blipper's debut appearance in 3D, though it retains the same behavior it had in Kirby Super Star (Ultra). Blippers can come in various sizes in the Extra Mode, though this does not affect their health or other attributes.
The Kirby Submarine blasts his way into a room with four Blippers in it in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
“Are you wondering why sea creatures like Blippers have to wear goggles underwater? The truth is, they've had them on for so long, they're scared to take them off. Or maybe they just forgot they ever had them on in the first place...”
— Figurine description from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Blipper appears in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, serving the same role it had in Kirby: Canvas Curse. There are two types: red Blippers swim in fixed patterns, while blue Blippers usually pursue Kirby when they see him. They can be defeated by normal means, conferring 100 points and 3 Point Stars when taken out.
In Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Blipper appears in the following locations:
Kirby and the Forgotten Land / Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World[edit]
Kirby catching a regular-sized Blipper in the Flash Fishing sub-game.
Blipper returns as an enemy in Kirby and the Forgotten Land and its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, using largely the same set of behaviors as before. In addition, Blippers of various size are caught in the Flash Fishing sub-game, including the "legendary" Bling Blipper, which is golden in color.
Blipper also has its own figure, though it lacks a description. Exclusively in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Bling Blipper also has its own figure.
In Kirby Air Riders, a school of Blippers appears as an obstacle at the end of the Road Trip stage Reefside Ride. The obstacle must be overcome with either Twister or Kine. Blipper is also depicted on an Icon and Sticker that the player can use on their License Card, which can be unlocked on the Road Trip Checklist.
The only main-series game which Blipper does not appear in is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Here, it is replaced by a similar enemy called Flopper.
Blippers will only leap out of water in specific areas of stages under the appropriate circumstances. Otherwise, their default behavior is to stay in the water. If for whatever reason they fall out of the bottom of water (which is possible in suspended water cubes), they will fall down through the air and be unable to move left or right until they land.
Starting with its 3D debut in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Blipper's eyes can be seen behind its goggles; the goggles were previously opaque. This property has carried over to most 3D games and newer 2D artwork, though they remain opaque in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse due to the clay artstyle of the game. This trait was evidently meant to debut in Kirby for Nintendo GameCube, as seen in pre-release screenshots, but games released during its development still featured opaque goggles.